Energy-efficient communication-based train control (CBTC) systems with random delay and packet drop

Abstract

Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) Systems use bidirectional train-wayside wireless communications to ensure the safe operation of rail vehicles. The random delay and packet drop introduced by wireless communication will lead to inaccurate train status and unnecessary control commands, which will affect the performance of CBTC systems. In this paper, we study the impact of communication delay and packet drop on CBTC systems. We formulate a networked control system (NCS)-based model for CBTC systems with random delay and packet drop, and propose a control scheme based on packet retry limit adaption and guidance trajectory update to improve the train control performances. Simulation result shows that our proposed scheme can significantly improve the energy efficiency and punctuality in CBTC systems compared to existing schemes.